<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Tender Wounds by DerKatzenprinz</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23421805">Tender Wounds</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerKatzenprinz/pseuds/DerKatzenprinz'>DerKatzenprinz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Intense, M/M, Major Character Injury, Pining, Possibly Unrequited Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:36:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>755</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23421805</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerKatzenprinz/pseuds/DerKatzenprinz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Separated from the rest of the Mighty Nein, Caleb, Essek, and Molly face a powerful creature. Molly is fatally wounded.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>81</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tender Wounds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>In this fic, Molly lived (or was resurrected) and Essek has joined the Nein on their travels. </p>
<p>I know technically in—game that characters can still cast no matter their hit points or exhaustion levels, and that once they are fatally wounded, they fall unconscious. But this is a fic, so. Not in this, they don’t~</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for reading! I can’t believe this is my first official Critical Role fic. I wrote it in a mad flurry of inspiration and needing it out of my head, so it’s only very lightly edited. I hope you enjoy it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The creature that wounded Mollymauk so horribly he was writhing on the ground and bleeding out is decimated by Essek’s final spell. </p>
<p>They don’t even know yet what it was. It’s part of what they were sent to find out. </p>
<p>That doesn’t matter now. </p>
<p>Only Molly’s agonised noises register to Essek as he touches to the ground and <em> runs </em> to him. </p>
<p>Caleb is already there, pushing his bundled coat beneath Molly’s head. Essek drops down on his other side, staring at the hole in Molly’s middle, just below his last rib. Bone is visible. Molly has been trying to press down on it, his hands as red as his eyes, but now he reaches out, one hand grasping Caleb’s forearm and the fingers of the other curling into Essek’s sleeve. Smearing his blood onto them both. </p>
<p>“Caleb- Fuck!” Molly’s back arches up. A pained scream through his teeth escapes. Then he pants, “Essek!” </p>
<p>When Essek tries to draw his shirt up to reveal the wound, Molly whimpers, tries to draw away. “Stop- stop! Nnnngh!” </p>
<p>Essek doesn’t stop. Caleb catches Molly’s wrists as the tiefling tries weakly to push Essek’s hands back. Molly cries out when the fabric of his shirt peels away from his skin. </p>
<p>“Caleb,you have one more healing potion, don’t you?” Essek asks, voice low, while he lowers his palms towards the hole.</p>
<p>“No, please- Gods, fuck!” </p>
<p>Essek’s hands quickly match Molly’s. There’s so much blood. </p>
<p>Caleb snatches the last vial from the holster around his leg. He opens it instantly and begins to hold it out to pour into Molly’s mouth. </p>
<p>“No! You need it.”</p>
<p>“<em> Was? </em>I am not-“ </p>
<p>“We don’t know where the others are. None of us can heal, I have no magic left in me, and you are too weak to cast anything without it.” </p>
<p>Glancing down at Molly, they both tense at seeing his eyes beginning to glaze. </p>
<p>Caleb’s gaze snaps back to Essek’s. “What would I cast?”</p>
<p>“Fire.” </p>
<p>The pause lasts only for a second, but within that time, Essek watches both horror and understanding settle behind Caleb’s eyes. Then Caleb blinks, and there’s so much determination in them. </p>
<p>Molly turns his head, whimpering. “Fire?” </p>
<p>Essek and Caleb do not respond, and the drow cannot help wincing as Molly’s fingers tighten around his arm. </p>
<p>Caleb swallows the healing potion. It closes some of the wounds he bears - he and Essek both are in danger of collapsing themselves, but their concern for Molly blocks out their own pain. </p>
<p>Then he draws his dagger. </p>
<p>“Fuck,” Molly breathes. </p>
<p>Red eyes fixate on the flame that begins to rise from Caleb’s palm, and watch as the blade is held within it. Once it is glowing, Caleb looks down at Molly, then to Essek. </p>
<p>Removing his hands from the wound to let Caleb cover it instead, Essek shifts behind Molly’s head and pulls his arms up gently, frowning as Molly struggles not to cry out. “Lock your hands behind my back,” he instructs. </p>
<p>It’s not easy for Molly to do with his whole body trembling, but Essek feels him doing so, and then takes both of his elbows, holding them down firmly. </p>
<p>Caleb begins to draw the blade from the flicker of the fire, but stills when Molly’s tail winds tightly around his waist. Chest aching, he removes his hand from Molly and replaces it with the dagger. </p>
<p>The scream is awful. </p>
<p>Once it’s done, Caleb drops the dagger to the side and leans down, cupping Molly’s cheeks in his hands. Leaving streaks. </p>
<p>The wound is horrible to look at, still, but it is at least closed. Molly will not die. </p>
<p>Essek releases Molly’s arms. </p>
<p>One of Molly’s hands lifts to touch Caleb’s cheek as well, then pushes back into auburn hair. </p>
<p>The other finds Essek’s hand. Gives one squeeze, hardly strong enough to be felt, and lets go. </p>
<p>Essek watches the two lovers expressing silent emotions to each other. It is a sight he has become used to, though usually their gazes at one another are far softer, or flirtatious, rather than full of relief and remorse.</p>
<p>It never hurts any less, how much he desires to be able to look at them both like that as well. </p>
<p>Caleb glances up at him. “Thank you, Essek,” he murmurs, leaning over Molly to press a chaste kiss to Essek’s forehead. </p>
<p>“... I do not wish for you to lose each other.”</p>
<p>He himself is terrified of losing them and he doesn’t even have them. </p>
<p>It hurts like there’s a hole through him. </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>